Compliant hydrodynamic fluid film bearings have been proven in use to provide extremely low friction durable, reliable support for ultra-high speed rotors in the most hostile environments, such as very low or very high temperatures, in which conventional lubrication fails. These applications are generally custom designed for small volume uses and they have usually been correspondingly expensive. For this reason, bearings of this class have acquired a reputation in the art as ultra-sophisticated, high technology products which are not suitable for ordinary consumer products wherein cost is a major consideration.
Although the ultra-high speed and hostile environment capabilities of the hydrodynamic fluid bearings have made the sophisticated applications an important field of use, I believe that the true potential for bearings of this nature will ultimately be in ordinary industrial, automotive and consumer products. I have designed processes for production of compliant hydrodynamic fluid film bearings to make high volume production of these bearings extremely economical, even more so than conventional bearings.